we're seeking a bipartisan solution that can pass both chambers of congress and be signed into law by the president in the coming days. now, during the campaign the president pledged to the american people that he would seek a balanced approach to addressing the debt, a combination of new revenues and spending cuts. so the day after the election i said the republican majority would accept new revenue as part of a balanced approach that includes real spending cuts and reforms. now, the white house took three weeks to respond with any kind of a proposal, and much to my disappointment, it wasn't a serious one. still, i'm willing to move forward in good faith. our original framework still stands. instead of raising tax rates, we can produce a similar amount of revenue, reforming the tax code to close loopholes and lower tax rates. that's far better for the economy, and the american people actually favor that approach by two to one. they favor it even more when we can also show them that real spending cuts will, in fact, reduce the deficit. now, there have been many conversations over the